Dynamic fatigue test for dental implants to ISO 14801

Dental implants are artificial tooth-roots and are manufactured from pure or high-purity titanium, which the body accepts as if it were its own tissue . As with all medical products, these implants are subject to extremely stringent quality requirements. Zwick's HC range of servo-hydraulic testing machines offer a convenient solution for fatigue tests to ISO 14801.

Dental implants are subjected to high forces during chewing motions, while as medical products they must comply with strict specifications. Available from Zwick for the required fatigue tests to ISO 14801 on dental implants and pre-manufactured implant assemblies is a servo-hydraulic testing machine with swiveling test device. Flexible adjustment (between 0° and 50°) of the angle of the implant axis to the test axis, together with a quick-adjust 30° setting, allows testing of dental implant systems with and without angled connectors. The implant is embedded in a cylindrical holder and retained in the test device by means of a clamp.

The servo-hydraulic testing machine from the HC range is a table-top model intended for forces up to 5kN, while the compact 2-column load frame is designed for materials and component testing under dynamic alternating loads in a closed force-flow. The integrated hard-chromed, T-slotted platform carries a Zwick fluid bath, allowing tests to be performed under physiological (in-vivo) conditions using saline solutions. The testing machine can be used for both standard fatigue tests and flexure and component tests.

The loading device satisfies all ISO 14801 requirements and enables dynamic fatigue testing of dental implants while maintaining the required degree of freedom. In the S-N test to determine the fatigue life and fatigue limit of materials, a minimum of eleven dental implants are tested under sinusoidal loads for 2 million or 5 million cycles, at test frequencies of 2Hz and 15Hz respectively . Also available from Zwick is the SAFD (Statistical Analysis of Fatigue Data) program. This technical/scientific software enables practical statistical evaluation of tests in the high-cycle fatigue area and in the transitional area to long-life fatigue.